Diabetes: Causes, Types and Symptoms

Explanation of Diabetes:
Diabetes is a chronic disease which is marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both. Now comes the question, what is insulin?
Insulin: Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar.

Causes for Diabetes:
In order to understand diabetes better, first we need to know about the normal process by which the food we normally eat is broken down and is used by the body for energy. Many things do happen when food undergoes the process of digestion. In this process, a Sugar called glucose, the energy source for body, enters the bloodstream. Now an organ called the pancreas makes insulin moves glucose from the bloodstream into liver cells, fat and muscle where it is normally used as fuel for energy generation.
Normally People with diabetes have high blood sugar because either these people's pancreas does not make enough insulin or these people's fat, muscle and liver cells do not respond to insulin normally or may be both of the above reasons.

The following are the three major types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed when the body makes little or no insulin. The exact reasons for this are still unknown but viruses, genetics and autoimmune are expected to be the ones. In this condition daily injections of insulin are needed.
Patients with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time. The condition is often diagnosed in crucial stages.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:

Fatigue
Increased urination
Increased thirst
Vomiting
Nausea
Weight loss in spite of increased appetite


Type 2 diabetes makes up most of diabetes cases. In this type of diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal, often because the body does not respond well to insulin. Most of the people with type 2 diabetes are not aware that they carry this, although it is a serious one. Obesity and lack of regular exercise are expected to be the reasons this type2 diabetes. As type 2 diabetes develop slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all for a long time.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:

Fatigue
Blurred vision
Increased thirsthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Increased urination
Increased appetite

Gestational diabetes which is normally found in woman is a high blood glucose that develops at any time during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes. Women who have this gestational diabetes have more chances of type2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in their life.

So by following certain health tips such as regular exercise, walking, keeping body weight under control can help in keeping diabetes away to a certain extent